Brazil was once one of the top three export markets for Alibaba AliExpress in the world. However, due to logistics and customs clearance issues, the 30-60-day delivery time of direct mail from China to Brazil, the customs clearance minefield and the over 30% unsuccessful delivery rate have deterred many sellers from shipping to Brazil. Brazil is one of the most difficult countries in the world to clear customs. Due to strict trade protection and restrictions on currency outflows, Brazilian customs is not only inefficient but also has a very high inspection rate and cargo detention rate. All kinds of packages are often checked, especially commercial express mail. Brazil’s VAT is divided into two tax numbers: CNPJ company and CPF individual. In order to protect its own industrial production, Brazil has a high customs tax rate, with a general tax rate of >60%. In addition, customs affairs are handled by the Brazilian Federal Taxation Bureau under the Ministry of Finance. It takes strong taxation measures on foreign imported goods. Inbound packages are taxed regardless of their value and weight (such as 3C products), which is particularly harsh on foreign companies. Because of this, there are very few e-commerce overseas warehouses in Brazil. If you want to build an overseas warehouse or a bonded overseas warehouse in Brazil, you must pay great attention to safety issues, and full-process monitoring is essential.
When clearing customs, importers must have Brazil’s foreign trade operation license (Radar License) and import and export rights. Different categories of products may involve import licenses and transportation licenses that require compulsory certification or testing by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Health Supervision Bureau, the National Standards Agency, etc. Sometimes, even if the customs clearance documents submitted by the importer meet the requirements, if the Brazilian customs allows problems with the handling of the goods, they can also detain the goods. If they are not cleared by customs after the expiration date, the goods will be confiscated, auctioned or destroyed by the tax bureau. There may be various reasons, such as incomplete information, lack of certificates, false tax numbers or exceeding personal purchase limits, and many anti-dumping products are restricted from entering the country. Although mail is supported to be imported in the form of simple customs clearance, the annual tax-free amount for overseas shopping by Brazilians is only US$50, so almost all imported goods need to pay tariffs. A tax of US$5 to US$10 is generally imposed on overseas packages. Even if the declaration is low, it is useless. The Brazilian customs will evaluate the average selling price of the product in the country to see if the seller is suspected of underreporting. The buyer is also required to provide evidence or website of overseas consumption. After verification, the tax is paid according to the price on the website. If the same goods are sent to local individuals, if there are more than 3 pieces, the customs may refuse customs clearance and return them directly. Otherwise, it can only be sent to the company and then imported in the form of formal customs clearance. At present, only the VCP and GRU ports in Sao Paulo can handle formal customs clearance procedures in Brazil. The recipient must also register with the local customs, which has caused a high proportion of abandoned goods and returned packages in Brazil.
Argentines can only shop online from overseas twice a year, and cannot purchase goods totaling more than US$25. A series of problems such as exchange rate fluctuations, high inflation, currency depreciation, etc. have plagued the development of cross-border e-commerce in Latin America. In addition, there are barriers such as tariff barriers, investment restrictions, high localization requirements, and merchants have difficulty in mastering local laws, taxes, and logistics restrictions. They can only seek cooperation with local Chinese.